GVGV SS 2013 – Insectopia

Drumroll, please… I’m happy to be kicking off our Tokyo Fashion Week coverage with one of my favourite shows of the season, GVGV. I’m already a huge fan, and of course I wasn’t disappointed with this collection, fittingly titled Insectopia on the brilliant shiny green invitation that dropped into our letterbox. You could say I was bugging out (sorry) (not really sorry at all) from the anticipation, as last season’s glitter-strewn catwalk in a car park under Tokyo Tower is an image that will stay with me for a while.

I’m not really a huge fan of insects: too many dystopian future science fiction novels read as a young teenager have left me with a distrust of things leggy and segmented, urgh. However, although insect were the theme of the day, it would be easy to wear any of the items shown on the runway without feeling like a Halloween costume. One of things I like best about GVGV is the way designer MUG pares down the best bits of vintage patterns and makes them fresh and sleek and modern, and perfect for Tokyo – peplums, shirts, high-waisted trousers and pencil skirts all find their way into collections again and again, but still manage to feel cutting egde and just right for busy city life.

I can’t get away without mention the fabrics and patterning, as these really were key in Insectopia. Starting off with plain pastels and round shouldered volume, we were then led to a garden of purple flowers with cheeky beetles hiding in the leaves. Dragonflies were the king of this country, with a delicate wing print adding substance to a floaty dress, and also somehow capturing the beautiful wavering blue and green lines of the main body. A cursory glance into the wonderful world of dragonflies tells me that they’re a big hit here in Japan, closely associated with summer and early autumn, and are symbolic of courage, strength and happiness. Also, I must mention the amazing shiny reflective fabrics that were used both for clothing as well as accessories (just the thing for beetle babes) and I can’t wait to see the pointed shoes up close.

(The glasses really add to the slightly inhuman look, and the shape of the dress (right) mimics the insect body.)

Thorax: prothroax, mesothorax, metathorax.

Dragonfly: order – odonata, suborder – epiprocta.

Exosekelton: epicuticle, procuticle.

(You can almost hear the buzzing of wings.)

(Yes, even how the hood unzips adds to the insectile image.)

Metamorphosis is a process all insects must undergo.

(images thanks to Fashionsnap)

There you have it: dare I say it, the perfect way to execute a themed collection.